Back to Blog
team@tinypod.app

IPv4 vs IPv6: What Self-Hosters Need to Know

IPv4 addresses are running out. IPv6 is the future. Here's what changes for self-hosting and what you need to do.

networkingipv6infrastructure

The IPv4 Exhaustion Problem


IPv4 has ~4.3 billion addresses. They're all allocated. New servers increasingly get IPv6 addresses, and some providers charge extra for IPv4.


IPv4 vs IPv6


IPv4

  • 32-bit addresses: 192.168.1.1
  • ~4.3 billion total addresses
  • Universally supported
  • NAT (Network Address Translation) is common

    • IPv6

  • 128-bit addresses: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
  • 340 undecillion addresses (effectively infinite)
  • Growing support but not universal
  • No NAT needed (every device gets a public address)

    • Impact on Self-Hosting


    DNS

    IPv6 uses AAAA records instead of A records. For maximum compatibility, set up both:

  • A record: points to your IPv4 address
  • AAAA record: points to your IPv6 address

    • Firewall

    IPv6 requires separate firewall rules. Don't forget to configure ip6tables alongside iptables.


    SSL

    No difference. SSL/TLS works the same on both protocols.


    Reverse Proxy

    Caddy and Nginx handle both protocols seamlessly. No configuration changes needed.


    Docker/Podman

    Container networking supports IPv6 but often requires explicit configuration. Most setups work fine with IPv4-only internal networking.


    Dual-Stack Setup


    The recommended approach: support both IPv4 and IPv6.


    1. Ensure your server has both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses

    2. Configure DNS with both A and AAAA records

    3. Configure your firewall for both

    4. Your reverse proxy handles the rest


    Clients that support IPv6 use it. Clients that don't fall back to IPv4.


    Cloudflare as IPv6 Proxy


    If your server only has IPv4, Cloudflare can still serve IPv6 clients. Enable proxy mode and Cloudflare handles the protocol translation.


    TinyPod Servers


    TinyPod servers include both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. All applications are accessible over both protocols with no configuration needed.

    IPv4 vs IPv6 for Self-Hosting | TinyPod | TinyPod